Chicago – January 30, 2025
Eight more hostages were released from the Gaza Strip on Thursday in a tense exchange that briefly delayed Israel’s release of 110 Palestinian prisoners. The swap highlighted the delicate nature of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The hostage-prisoner exchanges are part of a ceasefire deal aimed at ending the deadliest war between the two sides. In Israel, people cheered as TV stations showed emotional reunions of freed hostages with their families. Crowds gathered outside hospitals in Tel Aviv, celebrating as ambulances carrying the hostages arrived.
Earlier in the day, armed militants handed over three Israeli hostages and five Thai nationals. The Thai workers were taken hostage during the deadly October attack in southern Israel.
Meanwhile, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, large crowds welcomed the released Palestinian prisoners. The prisoner release was delayed after a chaotic hostage handover in Gaza. Hamas militants freed seven hostages in front of the destroyed home of their slain leader, Yahya Sinwar, as thousands of Palestinians gathered.
Hamas called it a “message of determination,” but the scene nearly disrupted the third hostage-prisoner swap. The situation led U.S. and Arab mediators to rush in to keep the ceasefire from falling apart.
